Left Behind
by WaffleGal
Summary: With no other options left, a young GUN soldier is forced to work for Dr. Eggman, and begins her new life at the heart of the Empire. (Please check my profile for an update. Currently on hiatus. Thank you for your patience.)
1. Chapter 1 - Rocks Fall

**Chapter 1**

The sloshing of dark, muddy leather boots splashed into the water. Underneath the red and orange ravine, GUN soldiers cautiously traversed through the shadows; their weapons drawn ready for any surprises. Sweat trickled down their faces from the humid, sticky air.

At the front of the group, the famous red and black spined hedgehog held a small device; a holographic map with a yellow dot guiding them where to go. The small ping was the only noise heard during the long and tiring hours of complete silence. The excruciating summer heat on their long sleeve, heavy uniforms made their mission drag on forever.

Occasionally, they would be surprised by finding different kinds of wildlife that roamed about. From playful squirrels, to a silent encounter with a deadly mountain lion that followed them for a while.

After hours of trekking and fighting against the shallow river flow, the squadron approached a fork in the open tunnels. One continuing the rapid river and the other, a dry clay path. The dot guided them to turn away from the water.

Shadow was unsure because according to the plan, this murky river was supposed to be their secret passage towards the Egg Base. But the impatient hedgehog brushed the thought aside and took the other path as a shortcut. As he stepped out of the water. he motioned the exhausted soldiers to follow him, his red eyes still surveying the map.

The chalky path had patches of grass scattered in between cracks, and the slope of the walls were much steeper than on the water. As they followed the trail, the beeping from the yellow dot gradually became louder. An informative, deep voice uttered out from the hedgehog's mouth, breaking the silence, "We're getting close to the—"

 _BOOM!_

The entire group jumped as a huge chunk of the cliff just ahead of them exploded into millions of pieces and slid down, now blocking their path.

"The hell was that," one soldier blurted nearby, nervously holding up his shield like the others.

 _BOOM!_ Another chunk of rock exploded, this time closer to them.

"It's a trap!" a gruff voice yelled out.

A domino effect of deafening explosions entrapped them on both sides. Some covered their ears and some fell under their feet from the sudden shaking. Clusters of colored stained rocks clashed down onto their heavy metal shields.

"Go go go!" They all ran back in a heaping mess, hoping to outrun the avalanche. Shadow was able to quickly run past everyone and lead the group back into the water. Small chunks of clay and rock rained down from the sky and hit their helmets.

One of the soldiers in the back covered her nose and mouth with a yellow bandana to protect her from the dust. Another nearby explosion went off and rocks flew towards a distracted Shadow.

The young female gasped and sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her. Everyone around her was shocked to see how fast she was running. She was one of the soldiers in the back, and had just maneuvered around her other teammates through the mud. She pushed Shadow out of the way just before the rocks could crush him. Seconds later the other soldiers were trapped in piles of rubble, bringing the whole group to a sudden halt. The avalanches had blocked all of their path to escape.

"No!" Shadow and a soldier nearby frantically pushed one rock from the pile that had encased his rescuer. After a few minutes of digging and pulling they were able to free the trapped soldier's head and arms. Her shield and armor was the only thing that prevented the rocks from suffocating her and crushing bones. Shadow was relieved to see that she was still alive. Barely.

"Gail!" The hedgehog shouted, but then lowered his voice, "Why did you do that?"

The girl's voice trembled, "They were, going to crush you… Stop." Her military goggles had cracked and fallen off of her face, exposing her frightened brown eyes. Parts of her fair face burned red and her braid was trapped in between two rocks.

Other soldiers were either busy protecting the group with their shields for more falling rocks or helping others caught in the rubble.

"Don't worry, we're going to get you out." Shadow reassured her as both men grabbed her arms.

She winced, "I can't move…" The helping soldier called out to their medic, who finished checking one person and then came running across the water.

He examined her face and brought out his kit, "Looks like first-degree burns. Broken bones are likely. We need to remove more rocks." The two began to hastily pull out more boulders as the medic wiped her muddy face and put cool, wet bandages on her right cheek, forehead and chin.

"Can you feel your legs?"

She tried to move her legs slightly. "Yes I can." Another medic was called over to her as a piercing siren suddenly echoed through the canyon. Shadow threw a small boulder to the side, "Now what?"

"Agent Shadow, the water!" a soldier pointed to the fallen rocks just a few feet away. It had stopped the river flow and the water was starting to rise gradually. At the same time, Motobugs leaped from the top of the cliffs, followed by a wave of Buzz Bombers shooting them from their stingers. Egg Pawns stood at the ridge and fired their arm cannons.

The infantrymen frantically formed two curved lines, the front holding up their shields while the second line stood readily with their Motobugs landed into the water and began to fire away.

The sudden battle of guns vs steel caused some soldiers to fall wounded as did robots. Badnick parts crashed onto the ground around them and onto their shields. Both sides were struggling to survive.

The comrade pushed another boulder and looked up, "Shadow, they need you out there!" More teammates were shot and struggled to get back up. The medics was called once again and once they were done, left them to help the others. Buzz Bombers distracted them from sky as Motobug began to surround the squadron, bringing them closer and closer to each other.

"Tell HQ to get a shuttle. I have an idea." Shadow exclaimed for the whole group to hear.

Their communicator stopped firing and pressed his' hand on his mic, "One is on our way Agent Shadow! Towards the west."

"Shadow we require your assistance!" another soldier called out.

"We can't get them all!"

The hedgehog looked out and back at the Private who was barely clinging onto life. "Hold on Gail. You're going to be okay."

The girl winced, "Okay…"

The hedgehog left and helped his mediocre squad and shot bolts of chaos energy at the circling Motobugs, destroying them instantly. The team aimed for the flanking Egg Pawns while Shadow took care of the Buzz Bombers by skating up the slope and dashing toward them midair.

The communicator listened to his mic and updated everyone, "Shuttle within range of us sir!"

"Then let's get out of here," Shadow went back to the trapped girl. The water now covered her chin and was slowly making its way up to her nose. He took the young soldier's hand and popped a blue Chaos Emerald from inside the emerald tracking device. He lifted the gem up in the air, "Chaos-"

The clean cut gemstone glowed brightly like a beacon, causing many to shield their eyes. Every G.U.N. soldier instantly teleported to the edge of the canyon nearby where they started.

The girl opened her eyes, expecting to be with them, but instead was shocked to see that she was still under the rocks inside the ravine. The water was rising threatening to drown her. Badniks stopped shooting in confusion as to where everyone went. They began to look around aimlessly for any signs of life.

"Shadow?" the frail, quivering voice called out. Her vision became fuzzy and slumped over the rubble and water.

* * *

"-Control!"

The special forces landed on the hot sands of Mirage Saloon. They all sighed in relief knowing that they were safe, but ultimately felt defeated failing their mission. Shadow eyes widened when he saw that the young soldier didn't make it along with them.

"The shuttle's here!" The communicator pointed ahead to an aircraft that landed in the desert, picking up sand that blew into the air. "Let's go everyone!" Some carried the wounded to the awaiting ship, while only Shadow and another soldier stayed behind.

"Wait but the Commander-" The teammate who helping the trapped recruit noticed her absence.

"Sir we have ten wounded soldiers that seek medical attention immediately-"

Shadow interrupted the medic, "I'm going back. We are not leaving," he pointed at the aircraft, "until everybody is on that ship."

"Agent Shadow," a commanding voice spoke from his' mic, "You must leave. Your squad is wounded. That is an order."

"Not all are accounted for! And it's-"

His' tone became more stern, "-I am sorry. But we can't risk others getting hurt for just one person."

Shadow was about to argue back when he was suddenly forced onto the awaiting shuttle. He desperately tried to get out of his' teammates grasps. Once they had took off, he looked back down at Mirage Canyon one last time.

 _Not her too._

* * *

Edited 4/18 - minor changes and deleted prologue (felt it spoiled the story already, but it will return in a later chapter)


	2. Chapter 2 - Safe and Sound

Shadow shoved the doors open into a wide open office. Abraham Tower seated in the middle of the room ignored the hedgehog's sudden presence.

"Commander! How dare you force me to leave one of our own behind."

"I'm disappointed in you. Not only did you _not_ retrieve the chaos emerald, but half of your assigned crew is wounded." His' grey slicked back hair faced Shadow as he busily wrote down on some paperwork.

Despite being just as tall as the desk, Shadow pointed at him accusingly. "I want a rescue team sent to Mirage Canyon now!"

One of the medics rushed in, "Commander! Excuse my intrusion."

"What is this about Robert?" Tower stood from his chair.

Shadow held up the blue emerald, "I used Chaos Control to get us all out of here, but-"

"- you did everything you could."

"You lifted those rocks to free that soldier?" The physician spoke out.

"Yes."

"That killed her."

Silence.

"The pressure was keeping her alive. Once you take that pressure away you have internal bleeding. The reason why chaos control didn't take her was because she was already dead."

"She was still alive then and could still be."

"She was probably already dying. The emerald sensed it."

Shadow's' eyes narrowed into a thin line. "This soldier deserves to be rescued. She saved my life. Check who was assigned on my team."

Tower reached for a tablet inside a drawer and scrolled down the alphabetical list. Everyone's names were outlined in blue.

"Are you two playing games with me?"

He tossed the tablet over to Shadow, "Everyone here is accounted for."

Shadow and Robert scrolled through the list. Her name wasn't there.

"But I thought…"

"Do any of you know the name of this soldier?"

The medic shook his' head.

"No. No I don't." Shadow lied.

"So, this soldier defied orders, snuck aboard your shuttle and ends up getting killed?"

"That is correct sir."

"Bush. You are dismissed."

Shadow scanned the list over and over. "I apologize Commander. It seems there has been a mistake."

"I appreciate that you want everyone to return home safe. However I fear it's too late to save your rescuer. We will investigate and find out who this was."

Shadow's ears drooped.

"We've both had our fair share of deaths. But we can't save everyone Shadow."

* * *

White noise of whirring and beeping brought the recruit back to the living. The young woman fluttering her eyes open, but quickly closed them shut from a bright, blinding light. A rhythmic beeping became slightly faster as the G.U.N. soldier attempted to sit herself up.

Smooth metal walls and shiny clean black floors adorned the hospital room. The curved beams and horizontal lights on the walls help made everything seem a bit brighter and futuristic. The only color in the room was green screen monitors that hung from the ceiling. A simple nightstand, monitor and IV pump stood by the patient's bed.

A brown bear wearing a white nurse's uniform rushed by her side in a panic, "Miss you must not move!"

The young woman scanned her wrapped arms and felt semi-cool patches on her face. After a minute of panicking the nurse was able to calm her down.

"You were in a bad situation there. I'm surprised we were able to bring you here in one piece."

"Where's Shadow?"

"I'm afraid we have no visiting hours at the moment," she grabbed a clipboard and scribbled down some notes. "Not until tomorrow."

The woman was tempted to scratch her itchy arms, "How long have I been out?"

"Hmm.. A couple of days. A week probably."

"What did you do?"

"Gave you a few surgeries, some blood transfusions. You know you could just save your questions for the doctor."

"I should have been dead."

The mobian placed a covered tray of hospital food and glass of water on the nightstand. "Now you eat up okay? Take one of these as well." She placed a small orange tube of full of painkillers.

"Could you, by the way let my uncle know that I'm awake? He's probably worried sick about me." She adjusted the pillow upright and scooted back.

The nurse paying half-attention swatted her hand back as she left the room. "Yeah yeah sure. Whatever."


	3. Chapter 3 - Saved

The food that had been given to her was not the best. The meat and beans were overcooked and the broccoli was mushy, but at least the mash potatoes were decent. She took this moment to observe the wing. She glanced over a nearby tray with creepy medical tools and supplies on her left. And on her right, an IV stand along with a tiny tube and needle in her arm. She finally noticed her clothes had changed; a simple white v-neck shirt with matching colored pants.

The girl flinched as she turned her body and began pressing random buttons on the wall to see what each would do. She flicking the lights on and off. Air blew above her. She accidentally pressed the button for the nurse. She finally found how to make her bed lift up so she could be more comfortable.

The bear mobian arrived momentarily. "Yes hun?"

She blinked in surprise, "Oh, hi!" She scanned the buttons again, "Is one of these the call button?"

"Yes it is." She grabbed the now empty tray by her bedside. "Do you need anything?"

The human spotted the bear's name tag on her white uniform, Grahams.

"Yes. What time is it?"

"It is currently 17:06."

Still no doctor visit? It's been hours.

The realization suddenly kicked in that she was the only patient in the room. There were no employees around and the beds around her were empty.

"Must have a lot of patients tonight. Haven't spoken to any of the doctors yet."

"Yes we certainly are packed." Nurse Grahams was already turning around to leave. "There were many wounded as you know."

Even though it was her first time being placed in a hospital, she could tell everything around her felt colder, almost giving her bones a chill up her spine. At this point, she knew that this slowly, growing creeping sensation shouldn't belong here. The room didn't feel very homey and was brighter than usual.

Maybe it's a different G.U.N. base! She thought.

"Yeah… If it's not too much trouble, could I contact Shadow?"

She heard a faint sigh and could almost see the nurse rolling her eyes, "It's not visiting hours yet, miss."

"I meant a phone call. Why do you keep on calling me 'miss'? I have a name."

"Yes yes I know. Give me a moment." She held up her hand on her ear and turned away from her again.

The mobian whispered to a faint voice discreetly. The patient shifted closer.

"Why does she keep asking for Shadow?"

"I don't know. Just say-"

"What was that?" She interrupted.

The bear returned back to her, "I unfortunately cannot."

"Why?"

"He's busy with confidential stuff."

The patient frowned, That's not right.

"You know what," she shook her head. "Forget it. Let me speak to my uncle."

"The name?"

She hesitated, "You're joking, right?"

"I don't have record of your family miss."

"Do you know who I am?!"

"I have many patients to attend to." the nurse replied nonchalantly.

"You don't know my uncle?"

"The name." She sounded like a broken record being put on repeat.

"Tower. Abraham Tower. And I am asking that I may speak to either Shadow or my uncle now!"

Silence.

"Tower?" she looked shocked, "As in Commander Tower?"

"Of course I mean Commander Tower! Who else would I be talking about? I'm Abigail Tower!" She pointed to herself. "You out of all of G.U.N. should know who I am." She couldn't believe this mobian.

Nurse Grahams shook her head in understanding, "... Let me see what I can do." She walked back out again.

She felt out of place. Like, how could they not recognize the Commander's only niece? Did they not think to let her uncle know that she was in the hospital? How dare they treated her like this!

The annoyed girl needed to find out answers and she needed to know now.

Abigail shifted and after a hesitant moment, hopped off of the bed. She cringed as her entire body felt like it was split in half. She moved around slowly and was surprised that none of her bones felt broken. Dragging the IV stand with her, left the hospital wing and explored.

Everything looked like she could have been at a different G.U.N. base. Metallic, futuristic style walls, flooring and ceiling. Confusing twists and turns, getting lost and not knowing where you were. This place felt both familiar and not at the same time, easing her anxiety a bit.

Not a prank. She concluded to herself. They, probably didn't think I would be here! That's it!

But all of her relief quickly washed away when she turned around a corner and immediately froze at what she saw.

Robots.

Huge, dangerous, armored badniks.

Some turned their heads and stared at the small human with their glowing blue, emotionless eyes. While a few in the back were helping carrying metal boxes with the infamous Eggman Empire logo stamped in the middle.

She was frozen stiff like a deer in the middle of the road. She couldn't possibly fight multiple badniks!

Nurse Grahams rushed around the corner and grabbed Abigail's shoulder. "Ma'am please!" she tried to pull her away, "You're still recovering!"

Her fight and flight instincts finally kicked in and she bolted. The IV stand fell and the little needle in her arm fell out.

Her back and legs felt still and lifeless as she sprinted. She flew in random directions. Left, right, right, left, up and down stairs. This whole place was a giant maze with no windows or signs to help locate where she was. She was totally confused and hoped this was some kind of sick joke.

"Abigail, come back!" the nurse shouted. The human looked back and sprinted even faster.

Abigail ran past multiple Egg Pawns that just turned their heads and watched. She felt like if she was Alice that had fallen into a strange, new, terrifying place with no way out.

She ran for about a minute until she started to slow down. Grahams was frantically calling for the doctor in her mic.

Abigail scanned for any sign of escape spotted an iron door in the distance and immediately

Abigail ran towards a random iron door that suddenly slid open on its own. Something stood in the way. She slipped on her socks and fell to the floor.

"Well, how's our patient doing today?" The figure clasped his hands together.

The person blocking the way was was a very tall, rotund man. He wore a bold red jacket with golden buttons and white trims along with yellow cuffs and black pants. She immediately recognized who he was not just by the attire, but also from his tinted blue glasses, bald head and giant mustache.

"No." The girl instinctively stood to her feet, "No no no no no no no!" She backed away and almost slipped again.

"Careful now!" Eggman reached a hand out, "Don't want you to fall again."

Switching glances between his hand and his face. Shocked in disbelief and in terror, she instinctively swatted his hand.

"Ow!" The doctor recoiled his hand. "Hey! Is that how you treat someone who saved your life?!"

"Saved my life?!"

Nurse Grahams bolted towards them with a needle in hand. Abigail clocked her head as she turned to face her, the nurse stabbed her in the shoulder and quickly injected the tranquilizing liquid.

Abigail tried to push the nurse away. But within seconds she felt the effects of the drug. Everything became dizzy and blurry. She stumbled to balance herself, but eventually fell to the floor and blacked out.


	4. Chapter 4 - Choices

The next thing she knew, Abigail found herself lying inside of a small cylinder glass tube. Past the thick glass was a futuristic looking office. Holographic images depicted charts and graphs, and the walls were decorated with panels of multiple buttons and screens. At the very center of the room was a shiny, curved desk and a red and white chair.

Flickering into consciousness, she pressed her shackled hands onto the invisible barrier in front of her. The ceiling of the capsule glowed a dim blue light. Small vents constantly flowed air in and out of the tube, but it made her tiny space cold and unwelcoming.

 _No no no no! This can't be happening. Oh Chaos, where is Uncle Ham? Shadow?!_

A door hissed open. Abigail froze and pretend she was sleeping despite she slight shaking. She expected to hear footsteps but heard none.

"Is that the G.U.N. soldier?" A goofy voice called out.

"Shh! Pipe down." Another voice hushed. "I think she's sleeping. Let's just do what the boss told us to do and go."

Two shaped heads peeked from behind the desk. One a red sphere, and the other a yellow cube. Both had blue circle glowing eyes and stick figure shaped bodies.

Abigail peeked and literally thought she was seeing magic right before her eyes as the red robot floated in the air in front of her. He brought up a small window that showed her profile picture from G.U.N. along with some reports.

She squinted her eyes, trying to read the tiny scribbles. But she could only make out her name listed in bold and bigger letters.

"Hi!" The yellow robot stepped right in front of her along with a friendly wave. The girl flinched and retreated to the back of the cell.

"Cubot! We're not supposed to be talking to the prisoner!"

Cubot pressed his metallic face on the glass. "Aww but see? She's not dangerous."

"Stop it! Can't you see you're scaring her?" The red orbed robot scolded. He pushed Cubot out of the way. "Terribly sorry about that miss. My partner here can sometimes be a bit… unaware..."

Her chest heaved like a balloon being inflated and deflated. Cubot read her name on the computer. "Abigail... Ooo! I know! We'll call you Abby!"

"Now's not the time to be discussing nicknames you incompetent fool." Out from nowhere, Eggman appeared behind the capsule. Abigail did not dare turn around and stayed frozen like a statue.

"Boss. I have brought you the documents you asked for." The red orbed one spoke.

"Good. Now leave us."

The two bots did what they told and left the room. Abigail scooted as far away from the man as possible, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Awww don't you worry kid." He spoke with false sincerity. "They're completely harmless."

She on the other hand was absolutely scared shitless. The leader of the Empire was actually talking to her. _The_ number one enemy of G.U.N.

"Tell me." He sat down in his red padded oval chair. She noticed that the chair was also levitating not unlike the two robots. "What was that circus show about?" The girl managed to keep a stern face but trembled slightly.

"You and your squad were at Mirage Canyon. Do you remember that?" he repeated.

She just stared wide eyed at him, unable to respond. Her chapped lips formed a tight line.

"Well? I'm waiting!"

No response.

"So... You're one of those silent types huh?" A wonky-looking gun popped up from the desk.

Abigail switched between him and the gun.

"The glass won't protect you by the way." He pointed the blaster at her.

She somehow, someway, mustered up her courage for a brief second. "Be my guest." she finally spoke.

A stiff silent moment passed between them. He lowered the gun. "Well played Tower."

Sudden bolt of electricity shot from somewhere inside, sending her to shriek in pain and collapsing face first onto the floor.

"Now then... If you would be so kind." He emphasised the last word. "Tell me why were there G.U.N. soldiers at Mirage Canyon?"

She struggled to stand up from being so weak prior.

"Look." Her chest heaved, "I don't remember much… W-We were just looking for some emerald and my squadron was sent there."

"Funny that you mention that by the way. I believe squadrons are in groups of twelve to fourteen, _not_ fiveteen."

"Well- I- um- This mission specifically called for t-that many!"

"I see... Or," he pointed a finger up in the air, then at her. "You're one of those stereotypical rebellious types. Aren't you?"

Abigail's face contorted into slight confusion as Eggman began to walk around her like a shark circling its prey. "You, being the Commander's daughter, probably had you stay inside various bases just to keep you safe. For many years! I'm assuming. But one day, you realized you were tired of being put in the sidelines. You wanted to see some action!" He punched his fists in the air.

He made it back to his chair with his hands behind his back. "So you joined the army, for what? To follow in Abraham's footsteps? To feel like you belong somewhere?" He leaned forward, "I'm genuinely curious."

Gail's expression twisted into a scowl. She hated how he just read majority of her 'stereotypical' life story. " _Niece_. Actually."

"Eh, same thing." He waved his hand in a shooing motion. He decided not to enrage her any more. "Let's talk about your injuries." He typed something on the table keypad and a few new windows popped up.

"Let's see here… Blunt force trauma, second-degree burns, bone fracture in the lower spine, broken rib-"

"-How, did I heal so quickly?" _More importantly, how am I even alive?_

"My med bots performed many surgeries to keep you alive." He stated.

"All that in one week?"

"A _week_?!" He bursted into a loud laughter, leaving Abigail confused. "Did Grahams tell you that? What am I? Some kind of genie? My dear, it's been almost two _months_ since the incident happened!"

"... _What?_ "

"Speaking of which, why hasn't Shadow sent someone to come back for you?" He thought aloud for her to hear. "He wouldn't just leave you behind like that. Especially someone of such high importance. Unless..."

"Unless, what?"

"Unless they believe you were dead."

The recruit shook her head. "No. No, Shadow tried to get me out."

"Which is what caused you to start dying in the first place." Eggman pointed towards the giant screen. A little cartoon stick figure with curly brown hair representing Abigail popped up on screen. "Look here. When the landslide happened, the pressure of the boulders were trapping in your blood, keeping you alive." The image showed a sad faced Abigail trapped under poorly drawn rocks, then more stick figures popped up, one being a scribbled faced Shadow.

"And once they started to remove the rocks, you immediately started to bleed to death. Which is why my robots rushed you here in such a hurry." The animation played what Eggman spoke, showing robots picking up her stick figure with her having 'X's' drawn on her face. "I am surprised you are alive..."

Abigail has a hard time processing all of this information. She was trying so hard to keep her glistening eyes from becoming raging waterfalls. "I didn't mean for this to happen…"

"And yet, there were fifteen soldiers..."

She sprouted an idea. "My uncle will repay you when you bring me back to him."

"Does he know you left?" he struck back.

Abigail didn't respond.

"Face it kid, they left you. And I saved you from the kindness of my heart." Eggman placed his hand over his chest as if to look sincere.

"You could have left me to die."

"But I didn't, didn't I?" His tinted blue glass suddenly turned white from the reflection of the lights. "Unlike your so-called allies."

"Well. I appreciate you helping me out. Really. But I'm going home now." She was about to move when she again realized glass was in her way.

"And go back to the ones who _betrayed_ you?"

"Listen. Leaving me was not their intention. And if they did, my uncle will believe me."

"And how do you know that for sure?"

"Because Shadow would never leave me behind!" Her voice suddenly raised.

"Then why didn't the emerald not bring you with them?"

"I don't know!" She slapped her hands on her face, muffling her voice. "I have no clue…"

She couldn't hold it in anymore. She didn't care. The shackles rattled slightly as her sniffles turned into raspy cries. Eggman waited impatiently for her to stop. She eventually wiped her face with the white shirt.

"Tell you what." He finally spoke. "You don't have to go back to G.U.N."

"I'm sorry?"

Eggman opened up his arms gesturing the computer room around them. "You can stay here!"

" Um..."

"I saved your life, and I don't get anything in return?"

"Have G.U.N. pay a ransom instead." She spat.

"I don't think your uncle would like that, now wouldn't he?" He wagged his finger. "And besides, you owe me."

"Excuse me?"

"Since I did everything in my power to save you, you have to return the favor. Unless you don't mind letting Tower pay for your injuries."

"How much?"

After typing away at the desk, Eggman brought up a list of all of her surgeries. As the page scrolled down all she could see was multiple numbers.

Her eyes shrunk at the total, " _Over Nine Hundred Thousand Rings?!_ "

"Why are you so surprised? We had to perform multiple surgeries! Blood transfusions- Broken bones- You know already. You were in bad shape..."

 _There's no way Uncle Ham can pay for this..._

"Think about it Tower. You could live here in peace. I can give you a place to stay. A job. I'll pay you for your services, and in return you can pay off the debt."

Abigail bit her lip.

"Or option B is rotting in a cold empty cell for the rest of your life." He gestured to the confinement she was currently in. "Your choice."

Author's Note: This chapter was long due, thank you for your patience. There were many changes added and removed to this chapter that I couldn't decide on what to do. I have also changed the title of the story, because the previous title had already given away too much of the plot.


	5. Chapter 5 - Home

"So tell me a bit about yourself Abby." He was busy flipping though different styles of uniforms in a wide closet rack.

The dressing room was brightly lit; two gray plush benches flanked a small platform in the middle of the room. Behind that was a tri-fold mirror, and knobs hanging from the walls. Multiple drawers extended from the wall itself to save as much space as possible. A machine stood in the right of the room, and a dressing room on the opposite side.

Abigail, still wearing the white shirt and pants, stood on the platform with arms outstretched. She was feeling better than before, the headache had subsided and she wasn't feeling as loopy from the sedative.

She twisted her head around, feeling rather exposed and uncomfortable as the two floating bots from earlier were now measuring her arms and waist. "Um. Actually, I prefer Gail-"

"That's nice, that's nice." He waved his hand in a shooing motion. "Where are you from anyways?"

"Empire City?" She felt awkward as the red and yellow bots measured her back and forearm.

"Oh. Right. Federation territory. I assume you and your relative are on good terms?"

"My rela- oh. That is classified information." She had been holding up her arms for minutes now and was getting tired. The two lackeys soon finished their work and entered the numbers into the machine nearby.

"Shame." he replied nonchalantly. "You can lower your arms now."

She did just that.

"Now, I don't usually allow my employees to pick out the color of their uniforms, but today's your lucky day kid, cause I'm giving you a once in a lifetime opportunity!" He made his offer sound as enticing as possible.

Gail's face shifted into annoyance. "Black."

"Oh." He was not expecting that answer. "Ehm, second favorite?"

"Dark gray." She crossed her arms.

"Purple it is!" Eggman concluded and typed away at the machine's keyboard. "Don't worry I'll make it work."

The machine beeped and whirled as it weaved and sewed multiple fabrics, all on it's own.

"How long does this usually take to make?" She ignored the two robots hands and stepped down from the platform on her own.

"Merely minutes. Why? Does G.U.N not have this kind of advanced technology like mine?"

"We absolutely do." She stated, matter of fact.

The machine dinged and a drawer slide out on its own and presented the newly stitched outfit to her.

"Well go on now." He shooed her away.

Gail picked up the clothes and cautiously stepped inside the dressing room and shut the door.

Eggman let out a cackle and rubbed his gloved hands together. "This is splendid! Not only do I have a G.U.N. soldier working for me, but this one happens to be related to Tower!"

"Excuse me, boss? Are you sure having the Commander's niece working for you is such a good idea?" Orbot inquired.

"Quiet you. I am fully aware that Tower could send his entire fleet just to get her back. But if my theories are correct, then he may still have no idea she's even here…" He faced his two servants, "Orbot. Cubot. I want you two to keep an eye on this one."

"But, how are we supposed to keep one eye on her when we have two?!" Cubot worried.

"I don't know! Just make sure she doesn't leave your sight!" Eggman argued.

Inside the dressing room, Abigail studied her reflection in the mirror. She traced her hands over multiple scars that were still in the process of healing. Her curly brown hair with many split ends had grew a few inches and was now as long as her waist.

 _I really did almost die…_ She steadied her breathing. She managed to keep her emotions in check for now and picked up the clothes laid out on the chair.

Abigail stepped out of the dressing room, hands holding the bundled up hospital clothes. She saw Eggman scolding the duo for reasons she did not know. She silently laid down the white clothes and walked over to the tri-fold mirror, studying her new attire in different angles. It fit her almost perfectly.

The yellow bot noticed her re-entrance. "Hey! We did something right this time!" He pumped his fists in the air in glee.

Her uniform was a violet padded jacket with silver zipper linings down the arms and front. She tucked the semi-tight black pants into the shin high boots that matched the color of the jacket. They had identical silver zippers in the front. Her left thigh had a light gray strap and pocket. The white gloves had a rectangular cut out on the back of her hands and was adorned with black cuffs at the wrists.

She turned and stood awkwardly and silently as the three of them approached her. Orbot re-folded the clothes neatly on the bench. Her mouth had become small and stared solemnly at her new boots.

Eggman clasped his hands together. "It seems you two actually _did_ do something right for once."

She responded in silence.

Eggman walked up to her and placed an uncomforting arm around her shoulder, scaring her half to death. "Oh, cheer up kid. At least you're alive and well, thanks to me!"

Her cheek was pressed up against one the white straps on his jacket. She began trembling. "Yeah..." _For G.U.N._ She kept repeating to herself.

"Are you alright Abigail?" He asked insincerely.

"You're squishing me…" She complained.

Eggman grinned broadly, "Let me give you the grand tour."

The doctor guided Abigail through a series of random hallways and factories that seemed to go on forever. He cleared up the eerie silence by boasting all about his machinery and his unique creations. Abigail at first paid little interest, with her head hanging low.

He pointed out different kinds of labs to her. Most were factories constructing badniks, while others were testing different weapons from giant laser beams that sparked with brilliant light, or egg pawns holding simple blaser guns in a shooting range. Abigail found herself more intrigued.

"Every bot and every employee has their role in my empire. Some of their stories are not much different than yours. They devote their lives to serving me, and in return, they receive food, supplies, shelter, whatever they may need as long as they continue to expand the empire."

Abigail cranked her head around as two dark purple robots who were just shy taller than her marched slowly past them. "You said I would have a job?"

"You will stay here and be assigned to tasks that I deem necessary. But yes, I have already chosen your occupation."

As the tour went on, they passed by a large room that contained a huge dragon-shaped robot, coated in shiny red metal and adorned with yellow rows of lights on its body. It had a cannon on on one arm, and a drill on the other. It's spiked tail left a faint glow of blue.

The two passed through another set of doors to a wide bridge outside. The stench of smoke and metal instantly rushed into her lungs. She coughed and cupped her hand over her mouth, and froze at the sight before her.

Below them was a giant crimson carnival that stretched out for miles as far as the eye could see. Neon lights lit up the park with its colors of blue, magenta and green, flashing and glowing on thousands of factories and buildings. All kinds of decorative theme park rides had the doctor's face planted everywhere and working nonstop. Ferries wheels, coasters, teacups you name it. Looking up, factory stacks lifted smog into the once beautiful blue sky, now densely covered with dark red clouds.

The rush of fast moving hanging cars shot over them both, carrying supplies to its proper destination. There was nothing natural growing in the park. No signs of trees. No flowers. And no animals.

Dr. Eggman noticed her stopping. "Isn't it magnificent?"

Her speech came back to her. "Where _are_ we?" She asked in a quivery voice.

"We are at the grand capital of my glorious empire," he boldly stated. "Welcome to Eggmanland, Tower."

"I think I'm going to be sick…" She had never seen anything like it. This had to have been a nightmare.

"Oh, you'll get used to the place. After all, this is your home now!" Eggman extended his left arm out wide.

Abigail's voice became very quiet. "My- my new home?"

"Come along now." He lead her inside of one of the many factories placed around the park. Foggy panels acted as the roof, seeping in more of the ominous red glow from the outside. Pipes and steel bars hung above, criss-crossing on top of one another like giant spider webs. To their right was multiple flights of stairs and on their left, an elevator.

They took the elevator and descended to the bottom floor. Large boilers were neatly placed in rows and on the back wall, clicking gears of many shapes and sizes stacked on top of each other as if it was one giant moving jigsaw puzzle.

"Where are you taking me?" Her voice echoed throughout the humid, stuffy interior.

"Let's call it," he turned and pointed to her while walking, "your room."

He brought her to a plain gray door underneath the staircase. He took out a key card out from his coat pocket and slid it down a slot on the wall and handed her an identical copy. The door opened on its own. Eggman turned on the light inside and stepped aside for her to see.

Inside was a very small space, with metal shelving surrounding the walls, cluttered with strange shaped bottles, containers, buckets and- is that- toilet paper? On the far corner, was a sink on the floor, and the drain covered by a metal tray. An identical sink much higher was placed nextdoor. On the left corner closest to the door was a cleaning trolley with brooms, a trash bag, a toilet plunger, a yellow bucket and a small vacuum. To her right was a twin bed mattress covered with a simple gray comforter and pillow. The ceiling was slanted, the left being taller than the right. Pipes weaved around the hanging lights, a ventilation system tried to keep the stench of chemicals to a minimum.

Abigail covered her mouth from both the smell and shock. "This is my room?!"

Eggman smirked, "Well it sounds a lot nicer than supply closet."

"Wh-" Abigail suddenly let out a yelp as he shoved her inside. As she turned to face him, Eggman pressed a button on the wall from the outside and the metal door slid shut.

Abigail ran and pounded on the door. "Hey!" She tried to slide her key card in the slot on her side of the wall, but a small red light blinked in response. The door didn't budge.

"You can't just leave me in here!" She tried to pry the door open with her hands. "Hello!?"

As he walked away, Eggman let out a cackle from hearing her faint, desperate cries for help.

* * *

A huge thank you to my friend Mandie letting Gail be featured in her latest chapter of her fanfic! Go check it out! s/12367835/1/Alchemy


	6. Chapter 6

Eggman briskly walked into a wide oval egg shaped control room, and started laughing to himself. The bustles of orange egg pawns ignored their master and typed away at computers below. A giant blue screen stretched with a map of the entire park with caution signs placed in multiple sections.

The doctor took his seat above, when a screen popped up with the icon of a yellow mobian.

Eggman sighed and stared at the incoming call for a moment, then pressed a button. An energetic chinchilla appeared on screen.

"My Lord! I come bearing good news!" Stars sparkled in her oval eyes.

"What do you have to report Thunderbolt?" His expression formed into a tight line as he sulked into his chair.

"First of all, how's the reconstruction going?" The little fur ball bounced in her seat in anticipation.

"The park is about sixty percent complete. Have you come for small talk or do you have something useful for me?"

"How's this for useful?!" She presented a green shiny emerald at the camera. She peeked to see his reaction.

His attitude changed less than a second. "Well that is useful!"

Thunderbolt giggled in glee. The gleaming gemstone was almost as big as her head. "This beauty landed near my base. I called 'finders keepers' when GUN rudely interfered moments after. That edgelord hedgehog was there too buuuuut..." She stood proudly. "I handled them all on my own."

"Well? What are you waiting for? Transport it here at once!"

"Actually, I wanted to personally deliver it to you." Her ears drooped and she clasped her hands together, along with a slight blush.

"There is no need for that. You are required to continue keeping watch in Soumerca."

"But my Lord, with the growing increase of GUN soldier patrols I think the emerald will be much safer with me. And if any GUN idiots dare to follow me, they'll be blasted into the sky and fall straight to their deaths!" The cables from the top of her head crackled with electricity.

The doctor let out a long sigh. "Fine. But you leave now."

"I won't let you down!" The chinchilla almost squealed in happiness.

He leaned forward. "Don't." Eggman tapped the screen, "Give away the park. Make sure nobody knows where you are going. When you have visual of Eggmanland, contact me and I will let you pass."

"You can count on me!" Thunderbolt saluted proudly and ended the call.

Eggman turned his head to the side, "I see you have come to rain on my parade. What do you want Grahams?

"Doctor, I want to talk about the incident earlier today." She chose her words wisely.

Eggman kicked his chair around to face the bear mobian. "Yes, lets."

Grahams took a breath and right as she was about to say something, she recoiled back as the man was inches away from her face. "Not only did you not keep Tower in place, you let her leave the facility and ruin the entire plan!"

Graham was dumbstruck, "my job was to make Abigail feel like nothing was wrong. Me staying could have made her more suspicious."

"She was already in your care. What happened after was the result of your irresponsibility. But don't you worry, your little performance didn't go unnoticed. In fact, it didn't even matter at all. She was bound to find out sometime."

"I'm sorry?"

"You leaving the door unlocked? Your so called 'acting skills' to make her suspect something was off. You having to contact me while in the room with her? Please, I've seen better acting in all four Chao in Space movies. You wanted her to find out."

"That's not true- I-"

"-And! You also wanted to be the one to stop her, to make it seem like you were saving her?"

"I…" She struggled to find her words. "I prevented her from causing any harm to herself."

"In which I had to interfere." He loomed over the small bear. "I should fire you. But you and I both know you don't want that."

Grahams' small ears drooped.

"If you're thinking for one moment about getting that Egg Boss position for this, then you are sadly mistaken. You will stay as a nurse. Go to a few improv classes while you're at it. Prove to me your loyalty and that your acting and deception skills are worthy of being an Egg Boss, and maybe I'll change my mind."

Grahams stared at the floor, "I understand, sir." 

Abigail sat on the ground back against the iron door. Her legs tucked in front of her face like a hermit crab curling up in its shell, trying to bury itself underneath the sand.

"Oh my god what have I done- What have I done?" she cried out. After a few moments of steadying her breath, she lifted her bloodshot, flustered face.

She wiped her nose on her new sleeve and sniffled. She must have been sobbing for hours.

scanned the neatly organized closet again, noticing a few things that she didn't catch the first time. Lots of equipment such as caution signs and hoses were hung on the walls, a vent from the ceiling, and some open space in between the racks of supplies and equipment.

Abigail grabbed the nearby pillow and slapped it on her face. "Wake up! Wake up!- Ow..." The pillow fell unceremoniously into her lap. After another sniff, she began to cry again.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Gail's shoulders immediately rose. She got on all fours, still holding the pillow. She scurried away and hid between the shelves and the bed.

"Go away!" She shouted with a tremble in her voice.

"Don't worry Miss Abigail. It's just us." A familiar gentle voice spoke.

Abigail eased, after confirming it wasn't Eggman. "Who is it?"

"It's Cubot and Orbot!" A louder, goofier voice called out.

"You mean Orbot and Cubot."

"Well I was the one telling her who we are."

The pillow fell to the floor as she got up and stared at the locked door. "I would like to be left alone. Please leave."

"If it makes you feel any better, the boss isn't here with us."

"Yeah! We just wanna talk."

Abigail checked her pant and thigh pockets for the key card and found it had fallen beside the cleaning trolley. She bent over, and spotted the broom hanging out of the clean trash bin.

"Miss Abigail?"

She stood with her back against the wall, gripping the broom tightly. "My key card doesn't work. I can't open the door."

A few seconds passed when a green light lit next to her face. The door slid open with a whoosh. The two robots blinked simultaneously out of confusion when a broom appeared in front of their faces.

"AHHHH!" They instinctively hugged each other in fright.

Abigail pointed the broom above their heads. She turned her head down the corridor. The only thing there was a wagon by the scared bots. She sighed in relief and lowered the broom.

The two stopped shaking and let go of each other. "Hello!" Cubot gave a friendly wave.

"Hi." Was her only statement. She turned around and sat on the springy bed, running a hand across her forehead, stressed and tired from the events of today. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright Miss Gail." Orbot floated over to her. "We're sorry to bother you."

"Can we pleaaassee call you Abby?" Cubot also entered the room clasping his yellow gloves together.

She shook her head and squinted, "Gail is fine."

"Oh." Cubot floated away.

"No no no it's alright. It happens a lot. I'm so sorry I forgot your names."

"I'm Orbot, and my partner here is Cubot."

"Pleased to meet ya!" Cubot extended a hand to her. She lightly shook his robotic gloves hand.

"Likewise. Can I ask, how am I fine? Was I in some kind of coma for two months?"

"Heavily sedated." Orbot responded. He picked up the tear-stained pillow on the ground and patted it on the bed. "You were kept asleep the whole time so you couldn't wake while being patched up. And now you're good as new!"

"I wish I was dead," she stood up and started to pace in circles. "Or maybe at home- Safe. Scolded by Zio. Anything but, this…" Gail finished her monologue with a blankless stare at the back wall.

"We understand that this is all new and different for you-"

"-Yeah! And the boss isn't so bad!" Cubot interrupted, finally reaching up and placing the hat on Gail's head.

"But we can assure you that everything's going to be alright."

"Alright?" Gail turned and approaching the two with a glare. "I sacrificed myself to help my friend, and this is what I get? Now I'm trapped in some kind of factory, amusement park... thing! This is a supply closet." She gestured to the small space, a jug immediately fell to the floor. "... Sorry, again. It's just been a long day. I'm not usually like this."

Orbot decided a change in subject was in order. "Which is why we're here to cheer you up. We want to officially welcome you to Eggmanland!" His glowing blue teeth rose as if he was smiling.

Cubot put on a party hat with the doctor's logo decorated on and blew on a colorful blowout whistle. "And we brought you housewarming gifts!"

Orbot didn't notice Cubot putting another party hat on his head. The red bot went back outside to wheel in that same wagon. Inside the cart was a neatly wrapped rectangular shaped present, wrapped in purple paper and a black bow.

"Oh. Thank you?" She declined Cubot's party hat favor. She sat down and unwrapped the bow and opened the lid.

Inside was her old GUN clothes neatly folded on top of something long and bulky on one side underneath. She took the dark blue clothing and laid them on the bed. There were rips in the fabric that were now stitched up with matching colored string. The only other difference was the GUN symbol patch was ripped off. She started to get emotional again.

"Wait," she searched through the clothes. "Where's my bandana?"

The two bots looked at each other. "We didn't see one when we found them."

"No-no-no- it can't be gone! Where did you get this from?"

"Nurse Graham." Both replied back in unison.

Abigail frowned at the two. "Where is she?"

"Last time we saw her was at the hospital waiting room. That's where we got your clothes."

"If Shadow wasn't already going to kill me before he would now." She stood up and went out the door… Then peeked around the door frame. "Um… Which way is it? I wasn't paying attention to Eggman's memoir."

Cubot gasped, "we can show you around!"

"Wait! Before we go, there's one more thing." Orbot gestured back to the box.

Gail came back and uncovered more paper. Inside was a slim black rod, and at one end was a purple attachment and a bundle of cotton strings.

"A mop?"

Orbot got excited. "It's more than just a traditional string mop. The cotton can fall out overtime, but this one is a brand new, and improved mop that will never wear out! It also has your colors!"

She picked up the piece of equipment. "Well, thank you for the gift. I think I know what my job is now…"


End file.
